“We went to school together. We met on our first day when we were almost five and we’ve been friends ever since.”
“How sweet,” he said, but even the ‘nice’ words didn’t sound entirely genuine, well at least not when directed at her.
“So are you a secretary like Lindsay?”
Steph laughed and mimicked Lindsay as she corrected, “P.A.”
He smiled at her, causing strange fluttering in her stomach.
“No, I’m an accountant.”
“You don’t look like any accountant I have ever seen.” He blatantly stared at her chest.
“Well, this isn’t exactly business dress,” she told him, gesturing the length of her body.
“I should think not. I would never allow anybody of mine to wear such revealing clothes.” He sounded quite serious, but Steph was unsure what he meant by ‘anybody of mine’; wife, girlfriend, sister, secretary, temp, accountant, what?
“You sound like my dad,” she teased, causing his expression to change to a darker one before he took her hands across the table.
“Trust me, Miss?” he enquired.
“Pryor,” she said in spite of a very dry mouth that was in stark contrast to her palms that were suddenly hot and sweaty, something he must be aware of with her hands still tucked in his.
“Trust me, Miss Pryor, if I were your dad, you would not be out in a dress that barely covers your arse and so drunk that you think it is appropriate to virtually give yourself up on the door to a stripper.”
He was still staring at her, making her want to look away, but she couldn’t, she was transfixed, hypnotised.
“I wouldn’t?” She wanted to kick herself for not having a smart arse answer that told him to sod off and mind his own business.
“No, you wouldn’t, but I am not your dad.”
She swallowed, desperate for him to tell her where she would be and doing what if he were her dad. Not her actual dad, obviously, because that would be weird and altogether wrong. Right now she thought she would do anything he told her to as he continued to watch her so intently. Could she call him ‘daddy’?
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
She shook her head wondering where the hell this was going. “No. We split up about six months ago,” she told him as he pulled his hands free of hers.
“Why? Did he disapprove of you flaunting yourself like this?” He waved a hand over the length of her body, radiatingannoyance and disapproval once more. “Was your slutty Steph persona a little much for him?”
“No!” she snapped, tiring of him, feeling angry, at him and Simon. “He was a dickhead who thought he could continue to live the single life whilst I should live the life of a reclusive nun,” she spat at him.
“I see.”
Steph stared across at him, certain that he didn’t see anything about her, but why would he? He didn’t know her and perhaps that was for the best because she was certain that he was incapable of seeing anything from any perspective that wasn’t his.
“If I had been him and you had dressed like this and drunk like that.” He gestured again, this time to her glass. “And put on that little show for the stripper you wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”
“No?” she asked breathlessly, unsure how he was able to trigger these reactions in her. All indications were that he was a bit of a dickhead meaning she should not be imagining anything other than getting up and walking away. Yet she was still sitting here being lectured and disapproved of when she really had done nothing wrong. She wanted to slap herself more than him now.
“No. In fact, you would struggle to sit down for the next week after I had finished with you, you and what would by now have been a very red arse.”
She couldn’t take her eyes off him and could feel her arousal rising further. Her breathing increased and there was a damp warmth between her thighs. She really needed to get up and leave this arrogant man behind before she reacted further to him. The mere thought triggered a flush to her neck, chest and face. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and he smiled. Thearrogant arse knew the exact effect he was having on her, and he clearly liked it.
Lindsay broke into their conversation, if you could call it that when she shouted across to Steph, “Come on you, they’re playing our song.”
She reached Steph’s side and pulled her to her feet and off to the dance floor.
“You two looked very close,” said Lindsay excitedly.
